


Warmth (I Forget How Cold It Can Be)

by hopespym



Series: betty barnes (and her human) [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Fluff, Other, Steve Rogers Centric, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Steve Rogers and the 21st Century, Steve Rogers gets a cat, that's literally the fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2020-02-21 15:32:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18705166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopespym/pseuds/hopespym
Summary: “Clint this is your responsibility, you can’t just load it off onto someone else!”“Bucky said I couldn’t have it and there are too many cats at shelters already! Stop being so lonely and enjoy having a cat!”“Clint!”Well aware he probably looked crazy, Steve continued trying to make a point out of the current situation, try get it through Clint’s head that this was not his cat, no matter how much the other man tried to ignore it.





	Warmth (I Forget How Cold It Can Be)

**Author's Note:**

> another installment of the AU that @/awstark (on tumblr) and I crafted. instead of focusing on the winterhawk, we added a new animal character the other day and so I couldn't stop myself from writing this fic real quick.
> 
> the winterhawk one about Betty should be up soon (hopefully!)
> 
> thank u to elin for being amazing at co-creating this universe with me and reminding me what breeds the animals are when i forget <3
> 
> again, not betad. all mistakes are my own.  
> (also i suck with series names so this will probably change to something better tomorrow oops)

“Where the hell did that come from?”

Steve looked to where Bucky was looking at Clint, his eyebrows furrowed and a frown firm on his face. Steve’s own face must have automatically mirrored that expression as his eyes locked onto the kitten that was currently clawing its way up Clint’s arms because the ‘innocent’ expression that plastered itself onto Clint’s face was not doing him any good.

“Buck! He was just behind a dumpster and I wasn’t just going to leave him there!”

“We’re not keeping a cat.”

The puppy eyes seemed to be coming out in full force and Steve sighed internally, deciding to walk away to make sure everyone was okay whilst he let Bucky sort Clint out. They were dating, Clint was his problem now and Steve couldn’t be gladder.

Now he could focus on going around and making sure his team, and anyone on the scene, was okay instead of fluffing around worry about what Hawkeye had done  _ now _ .

He was talking with Nat and Sam about the evil-dooer of the day when, “Here you go, Cap! It’s a present just for you!”

He looked at Clint’s retreating figure with bewilderment before he looked down in his arms and saw the exact same kitten from before now in his arms, blinking up at him for a moment before letting out a screech of a meow and starting to play with his fingers.

Steve glared at the retreating figure of someone who might not be considered a friend anymore. 

“Son of a-”

 

“Clint this is your responsibility, you can’t just load it off onto someone else!”

“Bucky said I couldn’t have it and there are too many cats at shelters already! Stop being so lonely and enjoy having a cat!”

“Clint!”

Well aware he probably looked crazy, Steve continued trying to make a point out of the current situation, try get it through Clint’s head that this was  _ not _ his cat, no matter how much the other man tried to ignore it.

So yes, he 100% did not look anywhere near the Captain America type that he looked like when he was out on the field on a mission, and he probably didn’t even look like the Steve Rogers that liked to yell at his television when football was on - no. 

He looked just like Steve Rogers, cat still in his arms but tucked asleep, banging on his best friends door and yelling with all of his might instead of just facing the truth that, damn it. 

This was his cat.

Fuck.

He took a deep breath and looked down at the sleeping cat and suddenly gave up on the fight.

“Guess you’ll need a name, huh?”

 

“You named the fucking cat Henry.”

“Yeah.”

Bucky looked like he was going to burst, but whether it was to rage or laugh, Steve didn’t know. Beside him, Clint was basically losing it he was laughing so much, even as he walked up to Steve and wrapped his arms around him, “Oh, man, dude, Steve. You’re so amazing.”

Steve huffed and waited for the man to move away, rolling his eyes and looking at the cat that was now sleeping on his couch and jesus, how much did this cat sleep?

He was more glad about that though, because as soon as the cat woke up he became something of a nightmare, hissing and scratching and just being a pain. Steve wasn’t going to mention to that though because he knew Bucky would have something smart to say about that and it was already their fault that he was in this situation.

“Still, you really couldn’t come up with anything better than  _ Henry _ ?”

The blush that littered Steve’s neck made Bucky’s eyes narrow further and he let out a huff as he watched Steve scratch the back of his neck, shrugging a little, “I might have googled strong names and it just… Fit.”

“You googled it.”

“Yes.”

“You googled the name of your fucking cat.”

“Yeah.”

“You  _ googled _ the name of your  _ fucking _ cat and  _ still _ the best thing you could come up with was  _ Henry _ .”

“... Yes…”

Steve wasn’t surprised when Bucky turned around and left without another word, Clint trailing after him laughing even harder before, slapping Steve’s shoulder on the way out.

He sighed and turned to Henry, who had now awaken with all the commotion.

“At least you like your name, right boy?”

The scratch on his forearm that came moments later begged to differ.

 

It was well known in the tower that Steve was a very light sleeper.

Having been in the war and in the business that he was in (along with the super soldier hearing) meant that he could wake at the drop of a pin drop, so when he felt his bed dip late one night it wasn’t a surprised that he jerked away within seconds.

What was a surprise was that his visitor happened to be a certain cat that wouldn’t let Steve touch him with a five feet pole any time that the cat wasn’t asleep.

“Hey puss, what’s up?”

He held his hand up and Henry nuzzled against it, purring lightly when Steve scratched his head. 

Against what everyone else said and thought, Steve wasn’t a fan of waking up  _ that _ early, so when he looked at the clock and saw it was only just barely past 5am on a Saturday, he merely patted the sheets as an invite for Henry and let out a little hum when the cat snuggled on his chest, curling up into a little ball.

Maybe he was lonely.

Having a cat wasn’t so bad.

 

Having a cat was horrible.

Steve let out a weary sigh as he dropped his cowl and shield onto the ground. He let out a groan as he saw toilet paper torn up all around the apartment. 

Not wanting to deal with anything he went into the kitchen, thankfully there was no mess in there, and poured out a glass of water, draining it quickly before he poured another and walked back into the living room.

With a disappointed gaze he skimmed the apartment, taking another gulp of water before he moved through the place, walking into the bathroom and seeing the cat asleep in a mess of toilet paper. 

Henry had made a whole nest and Steve was just thankful that there wasn’t else much to destroy.

Feeling more exhausted than when he had first arrived all of a sudden Steve slumped down the wall beside the nest and shut his eyes, for only a moment.

When he woke up he was spread all across the floor and he had a tail flicking across his neck.

He huffed and resolutely did not think of all the pick up that had to be done.

(he was aware that the bots could do it a lost faster than he could, but sometimes cleaning was therapeutic for him - and after the last mission it seemed just what he needed).

 

“He’s getting really big.”

Steve hummed a nod and looked down at Henry, who was now spread across his lap and then back up at Bucky, who was lounging on the other side of the couch with one foot right on Steve’s thigh.

Steve didn’t even try to fight it anymore, the contact was grounding for both of them without them needing to talk about it.

“Yeah, apparently he’s meant to get really big. Part of the breed and all.”

“Oh? What breed is he?”

Steve side glanced at his friend and saw him pulling out his phone, returning to whatever movie they were watching that Tony had said that  _ ‘needed’  _ to watch, “Maine coon apparently.”

There was a pause and all that was heard was the sound of the gunfire from the movie and especially shitty one liners. Steve didn’t get what the fuss was about, but he knew that he’d still go to Tony saying that he enjoyed it.

“Steve, are you sure you don’t have a mountain lion for a cat?”

He shrugged and glanced down at the cat, scratching the area between his ears and let out a little sigh, “He’s not too big just yet, so it’s fine.”

“That cat’s gonna be bigger than Betty.”

“Maybe we could get him a little uniform, get him on the field.”

Bucky stared at him for a few moments before he shook his head and turned back to the movie, mumbling about Steve being an idiot.

 

When Henry met Betty, Steve didn’t think he’d ever felt pride like that before. Not even when Bucky and Clint had finally gotten their heads out of their asses and gotten together.

Bucky was standing beside Steve, both of them cooing as the two animals had tired themselves out from playing around together. 

Betty had acted every inch of an excited dog upon seeing Henry and whilst Henry had seemed uninterested, going to swipe Betty a couple of times, the two were now curled up together with Henry on top of Betty.

Unable to refrain himself from taking photos, Bucky stepped closer to the two of them and pulled his phone out, leaning all over them to try and get some good angles.

Steve just stood back and felt his pride grow even more, smile getting wider. He took a deep breath as he released some of the emotion and feeling that was building up inside of him. 

When Bucky straightened up and turned to look back at Steve, his face went soft and Steve knew his face was releasing some of his sappy emotions as well.

“You alright, pal?”

“Yeah… Yeah I am, Buck.”

 

Aside from being able to wake at the drop of a hat, sometimes Steve had trouble even falling asleep.

It mostly happened in the winter, when it got colder. It reminded him too much of the ice and he sometimes got anxiety over the  _ ‘what ifs’ _ that weren’t really that plausible - like what if he never woke up? Or what if he woke up and the past how many years had been all a dream? What if-what if-what if-

Anyway.

Sometimes it was hard to sleep.

He dragged his hand over his face and sighed, getting out of the bed.

Maybe the therapy S.H.I.E.L.D. offered wouldn’t be that bad, if Bucky and Clint went, couldn’t he?

Wincing as his feet touched the cold ground he ignored that thought and tried to focus on something he could do right now since obviously he wasn’t going to be sleeping.

Before Bucky had gotten with Clint (and a few times after, Steve wasn’t going to pretend) during nights like this he used to make his way into Bucky’s room and curl into bed with the man, just seeking comfort.

Knowing in his mind that neither of them honestly minded that much, he honestly could have gone and joined them in their bed (Bucky and Clint would sometimes both stumble into his bed on the occasion, so it wasn’t a problem), but he knew that it would just make Bucky worry about him.

Plus he didn’t want to intrude on them.

Walking into his lounge and kitchen area he flicked the lights on, stumbling a big before he realised Henry hadn’t been in bed with him. Rubbing his eyes and looked around the room and saw that his shield was knocked over on the floor.

Furrow on his face, he made his way over with caution. (he knew nothing could  _ really _ be wrong, and that if there was, he would have been alerted previously, but he still couldn’t help but worry).

What he was expecting wasn’t to find Henry curled up in the shield like it was the place he was meant to be, like there was nowhere on earth he’d rather be.

Steve sighed and a smile graced his lips, he crouched down and gently scratched one of his ears before the cat stretched and let out a big yawn, blinking those big golden yellow eyes at him.

“Did I wake you, bud? Sorry about that.”

Henry merely stood and stretched from the shield, jumping out and trotting to the bedroom, stopping at the entrance to sit and lick his paw, cleaning his face for a moment before he meowed and Steve.

The tiredness seemed to seep through Steve and he shook his head as he bent back up, knees cracking a little on his way up, a stark sound in the silence, before he followed Henry into bed.

He managed to sleep then, if only for a bit, but with a warm presence resting over his heart and a grounding weight over his torso, he knew he was safe.

He knew he was home.

**Author's Note:**

> let me know what you thought!
> 
> tumblr: @/hopespym (tomorrow @/maximoffwandas)


End file.
